‘Walking Dead’ Season 4 Spoilers: Who Is Joe? Theories About The New Group That Daryl Joined In Episode 13

Daryl may have punched Joe in the face, but he ultimately ended up joining his group of marauders. Photo: AMC/ Walking Dead Screenshot

As “Walking Dead” fans know, some SERIOUS drama went down in episode 13, “Alone.” For the past couple of weeks, viewers have watched as Beth and Daryl grew closer after the prison attack. Forced to rely on each other for survival, Beth began to break down Daryl’s wall, opening him up to hope and goodness. But by the end of Sunday night’s episode, Daryl was right back where he started with a group of bad, bad men.

For those that missed episode 13, Beth and Daryl sought shelter in a funeral home after Beth injured her foot in an animal trap. The building may have been abandoned, but the person who had been there left it clean and full of food … and a couple of embalmed walker bodies. Beth believed that a “good” person was staying there, but Daryl had his doubts.

By the end of the episode, their safe haven was compromised after an attempt to feed a stray dog resulted in a hoard of walkers breaking through the front door. Daryl forced Beth to take her bag and escape through a window as he fended off the undead. And even though he followed her out shortly after, it ended up being too late because he watched as someone in a car with a large cross in the back window kidnapped her and sped off.

Daryl ran after the car, but fell to the ground in defeat when he came across a fork in the road by a set of train tracks. And it was there that the crossbow wielding survivor found himself surrounded by a group of men wielding weapons

With his life in danger, Daryl punched the leader of the group. And while that may not have been the best move, it actually may have saved Daryl’s life. “Suicide is stupid,” the leader told Daryl, insinuating that if Daryl tried to kill him, he would end up dead himself. “Why hurt yourself when you can hurt others?”

The leader introduced himself as Joe after complimenting Daryl’s choice of crossbow. And when Daryl gave his name, the men lowered their weapons. Episode 13, “Alone,” appeared to end with Daryl joining the group (more than likely by force and the need to survive).

But who is Joe? And the rest of the men that Daryl ran into? Unfortunately, Joe's not a character from “The Walking Dead” comics; however, that doesn’t mean we don’t know anything about him.

First appearing in Season 4, episode 11, “Claimed,” Joe and his band of men ended up breaking into the same home where Rick, Carl and Michonne were seeking shelter. Rick had been alone in the house at the time, and he was quickly able to figure out that they weren't good men. Besides getting violent with each other and a man they were holding captive, they also appeared to be a major threat to women after discovering Michonne’s wet shirt.

Armed with weapons, the men are referred to as marauders. And while their leader Joe isn’t mentioned in the comics, the marauders are. In “The Walking Dead” comics, the marauders are a group of three men who ambushed Rick, Abraham and Carl. As Rick and Abraham fought the men off, one of them attempted to rape Carl. Upon seeing this, Rick killed one of the men by fatally biting his neck and Abraham shot another in the head. The final man surrendered and attempted to run, but Rick ended up catching him and brutally killing him with his own knife.

It’s unclear if Joe’s group is meant to be based off of the marauders in the comics, but on the AMC series Joe’s band of marauders consists of six people, not three. If Joe and his men aren’t supposed to be based off of the marauders, they could potentially be a couple of other threats based on the comics:

“The Hunters”

Joe and his group could potentially be based on “The Hunters.” In the comics, “The Hunters” are a group of six people who turned to cannibalism after scavenging for food and hunting for animals becomes too difficult. The group allegedly started off by eating their children, and turned to small groups or loners after that.

“The Hunters” eventually began to stalk Rick’s group, desperate for food even though the group of survivors was large. Their first victim was Dale who had walked off into the woods to die alone from a walker bite. “The Hunters” didn’t realize that Dale had been infected and cooked and ate his remaining leg (he lost one leg from amputation due to a bite). When they discovered that Dale had been infected, they beat him until he became unconscious and dropped off his wounded body for Rick’s group to find.

Negan and “The Saviors”

Another theory is that Joe could be famed comic book villain Negan. Negan, who appeared after the Governor's death, is currently the big bad in the graphic novels.

Described as the “polar opposite of Rick,” Negan leads a group of survivors known as “The Saviors.” Negan and “The Saviors” terrorize other groups of survivors by stealing their supplies and much worse in exchange for protection from walkers. Rick’s group runs into them after they seek shelter at the Alexandria Safe Zone. When a few of Negan’s members are killed, Negan and “The Saviors” exact revenge by killing Glenn, and later Abraham.

Who do you think Joe is? Do you think he’s based on a comic book character? Or could he potentially be a new character? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or send a tweet to @AmandaTVScoop.